No cases of the bird flu have been detected in Malaysia so far, the Veterinary Services Department said on Saturday.

In the wake of the outbreak of the fatal diseases, the department had conducted checks at 4,946 poultry farms and premises nationwide, it said in a statement released in Kuala Lumpur.

The department screened 3,267 broiler chicken, 469 layer chicken and 87 native chicken farms as well as 261 duck farms and 185 bird shops nationwide.

It said the veterinary authorities also inspected 23 bird sanctuaries, 270 quail farms, 317 wet markets and 67 chicken slaughter centers.

Malaysia has stopped the import and export of all kind of birds and will not allow any bird transit the country to avoid the spread of the avian flu.

"It is the advice of the Veterinary Services Department. We have stopped the import and export of birds," Science, Technology and Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding said on Wednesday.

Agriculture Minister Muhyiddin Yassin last week instructed poultry farmers, duck breeders and bird rearers to send daily reports on the precautionary measures taken by them to prevent the bird flu virus outbreak.

The border areas are being scrutinized so that no chicken is smuggled into the country from the affected neighboring countries.

Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and the Philippines are the countries in Southeast Asia still spared from the bird flu.

(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2004)